Officials in President Joe Biden’s administration are reportedly exploring the consequences of shutting down an oil pipeline in Michigan.
Fox News reported, “The administration has yet to decide on what to do with Line 5, and officials were gathering information only to present a clear picture of the situation.”
“Line 5 is part of a network that moves crude oil and other petroleum products from western Canada, transporting about 540,000 barrels per day. Petroleum is taken from the pipeline in Escanaba, Michigan,” it added.
The consideration comes roughly a month after the price of a gallon of gasoline hit a seven-year high. According to AAA, the average price for a gallon of gas nationally is $3.42, up from $2.11 a year ago.
During an interview with Bloomberg on Friday, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm was asked, “What is the Granholm plan to increase oil production in America?”
Granholm laughed, then responded, “That is hilarious. Would that I had the magic wand on this.”
“As you know, of course, oil is a global market. It is controlled by a cartel. That cartel is called OPEC. And they made a decision yesterday that they were not going to increase beyond what they were already planning,” she added.
Still, she said, “The Biden administration is very concerned about the price at the pump and certainly the price in people’s wallets for natural gas as well for this winter including, I would say, propane and heating oil, particularly, in the Northeast.”
And during an appearance on CNN on Sunday, Granholm said it will be more expensive for Americans to heat their homes this year as she blamed similar disruptions to the supply chain for the higher prices.
“This is going to happen. It will be — it will be more expensive this year than last year,” Granholm told CNN. “We are in a slightly beneficial position, well certainly relative to Europe, because their choke hold of natural gas is very significant. … But we have the same problem in fuels that the supply chains have, which is that the oil and gas companies are not flipping the switch as quickly as the demand requires.”
However, she said Biden is looking into “all of the tools” at his disposal to try to address rising energy prices.